Where do Rusev and Jinder Mahal go after WWE WrestleMania and beyond?
The future seemed pretty bright for Rusev towards the end of 2016. His feud with Roman Reigns was very successful, and after WWE Hell in a Cell, his momentum could have gone towards the Universal Title picture. Rusev’s ability in the ring had definitely improved and even though he was at the losing end of his feud with Reigns that didn’t go unnoticed by many.
However, he would end up feuding with Enzo Amore in a storyline with Lana that would borderline the days of the Attitude Era. Rusev would find himself aligned with Jinder Mahal as the two embarked on a short feud with Amore and Big Cass. But now that Enzo and Cass are in contention for the Raw Tag Team Championship, the program is over and done with. Perhaps that was a good thing.
While Rusev has had a steady climb to the top of the WWE mountain in the last three years, Mahal returned to the WWE last year after being released in 2014. Until his alliance with Rusev, he has been used sparingly on WWE TV. The idea of them being a team wasn’t a bad one; I’m just wondering where they go now that Fastlane has passed and headed towards WrestleMania.
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In what was a surprising move, to say the least, their alliance was short-lived, which was in fact announced at Fastlane. Their differences would lead to both of them having impromptu singles matches. Mahal had a pretty decent match with Cesaro at the PPV event considering he lost. All the while Rusev found himself on the short end of the stick in a massacre with the Big Show. In between all of that the former teammates came to blows, solidifying the breakup. But now that it’s over, will the two feud against one another or will the former teammates go their separate ways? No questions were answered on Raw, so what is the deal between Rusev and Mahal and what is next for either of them?
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The potential for Rusev and Mahal as a tag team were pretty high if the company was dedicated to them. For someone as established as Rusev, on the surface, it looks that his star has fallen. I certainly don’t think that it has, but the momentum he had in his feud with Reigns last fall has definitely slowed down. For him, it is like another roadblock in his quest to make it to the main event picture. Mahal could have certainly use the star power and find success should the company have gotten invested in the team’s potential. The heat was already there; why not take advantage of it? Their foreign roots is a major common denominator for them to be a team, and with Rusev’s strength and intensity, for sure they could have done some damage in the Raw Tag Team Division.
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However with only a little over than three weeks until WrestleMania, things certainly don’t look all that great for either man at the moment. Just like the quick alliance, it may all be a flash in the pan. Considering that there was no follow up on either guy, one can pinpoint that their roles going into WrestleMania aren’t a big one right now with a stacked card building of part-time veterans and other high-profile storylines. I hope that their roles will change come the summer. Before we know it SummerSlam will be here. It’s not too late to capitalize on the potential between them after all. Just not the way fans had expected.